Tag: Kentucky basketball

Kentucky is getting a visit next weekend from a four star-recruit

Class of 2025 forward Samis Calderon will visit Kentucky basketball November 9th and 10th.

Recently, it was announced that 2025 small forward Samis Calderon would be taking a visit to Kentucky basketball some time in November. A visit has officially been set, and he will now be in Lexington November 9th and 10th, according to Kentucky Sports Radio.

Calderon is currently a member of Overtime Elite, along with Jasper Johnson, who is committed to the Wildcats. Coach Mark Pope has been in contact with him in recent weeks.

Related: Class of 2025 guard Acaden Lewis commits to Kentucky

Calderon is a 6’8″, 200 lb forward out of Georgia. He is currently unranked by 247sports, but they do have him rated four stars. He’s ranked as the number 35 small forward in the 2025 class.

Kentucky is one of several visits Calderon decided to take. He recently spent time with the Auburn Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers, and Michigan Wolverines. Kansas has also extended an offer.

There isn’t a set timeline for a decision, but he’s one of several 2025 targets that Pope is working on. Fans should continue to monitor the situation.

Four-star point guard Acaden Lewis commits to Kentucky basketball

Class of 2025 point guard Acaden Lewis commits to Kentucky and Mark Pope.

Another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for coach Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball. After heavily recruiting point guard Acaden Lewis, he joins Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson as commits to the Wildcats for 2025. The announcement was streamed by On3.

The final three schools were Kentucky, Connecticut and the Duke Blue Devils. He made his announcement on Saturday afternoon, choosing Pope and the Wildcats. Experts had predicted the choice for several weeks before he made it official.

Related: Amari Williams could miss start of season

Lewis is a 6’2″, 170 lb point guard out of Washington, D.C. He is rated four stars by 247sports and is ranked as the number 32 overall player in the 2025 class.

The commitment now gives Kentucky three players ranked in the top 40 of the 2025 class. Lewis, Moreno, and Johnson are a very nice trio heading into next year, and they hope to make it a foursome soon.

All eyes now shift to Caleb Wilson and Chris Cenac Jr. Pope would love to land one of the two, and it would certainly give him a top five group for his first recruiting class.

A Kentucky big man is nominated for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award

Kentucky center Amari Williams is nominated for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award.

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope was happy to add center Amari Williams through the transfer portal this offseason. He’s talented and experienced. An injury might cause him to miss a game or two, but he was still recognized for his potential on Friday.

Williams is officially in the running for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is given to the nation’s best center every year. He’s one of the 20 players named to the watch list.

Related: Kentucky wins big over Minnesota State

During his four seasons at Drexel, Williams was named the Colonial Athletics Association Defensive Player of the Year in three of them. He averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game last year, before coming to Kentucky for 2024.

The nominees for the award will be narrowed down to 10 during the season before the winner is announced at the Final Four. Hopefully, Williams can get healthy quickly, and play well enough to win the award.

Kentucky could be without Amari Williams to start the season

Kentucky center Amari Williams could miss the season opener with an injury.

Kentucky’s two exhibition games allowed fans to see what Mark Pope and his offense can do, and it was fun to watch. The Cats’ second game saw them take down reigning Division II champion Minnesota State, but it didn’t come at a cost. Amari Cooper was injured during the game, and left it early.

Pope initially said things looked good, but they were going to wait for further testing. Fans were understandably concerned with the season about to begin.

Related: Best photos of Kentucky’s win over Minnesota State

On Thursday, Pope reassured fans that Williams didn’t suffer a serious injury. He says Williams is day to day, and that they hope to have him back soon. They’re going to be cautious, however, and that probably means he won’t play in the season opener against Wright State.

Hopefully, it won’t keep him out of many games, and he’ll recover quickly. He figures to be an important player for Pope and the Wildcats in this transition season.

The best photos of Kentucky’s exhibition win over Minnesota State

The best photos from Kentucky basketball’s exhibition win over Minnesota State on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday night, Kentucky basketball played their second exhibition game of this preseason, facing off against Minnesota State. The Mavericks are the defending Division II champions, but the Wildcats handled them 98 – 67.

The Wildcats started more slowly than they did in their first game against Kentucky Wesleyan. However, midway through the first half, they heated up and began to pull away. The second half was all Cats, and they ended up with a thirty-point victory.

Related: Jaxson Robinson named top 100 player by ESPN

Jaxson Robinson led the way with 24 points, but they got good showings from Brandon Garrison, Otega Oweh, and Andrew Carr as well. Point guard Kerr Kriisa also looked good in his first playing time, recording a team-high six assists.

There were many great moments during the course of the game, and thus, many great pictures. Here are the best images taken from the Kentucky win over Minnesota State on Tuesday night.

Kentucky wins big over the defending Division II national champions

Kentucky basketball wins their final exhibition game against Minnesota State 98 – 67.

Kentucky basketball played in its second exhibition game on Tuesday night, after dominating Kentucky Wesleyan. This time, they faced stiffer competition, against defending Division II national champions, the Minnesota State Mavericks.

The Wildcats were still expected to have a relatively easy time with this one, but it was close in the first half. Minnesota State pulled to within two before Kentucky went on a run to close the half. They’d pull away in the second half and win 98 – 67.

Related: Jaxson Robinson named top 100 player by ESPN

Jaxson Robinson once again led the Cats in scoring, with 24 points, on eight made three-pointers. He also led the team with six rebounds. Otega Oweh was 7-of-8 from the floor, and had15 points and 6 assists. Andrew Carr had 14, and Brandon Garrison had 12.

The game marked the debut of Kerr Kriisa, who was solid, with just three points, but added four rebounds and six assists.

The Wildcats are now set to move on to the regular season. They’ll open things up on November fourth against Wright State.

Jaxson Robinson is listed in the top 100 college basketball players by ESPN

ESPN has ranked Kentucky basketball addition Jaxson Robinson as a top 100 player.

When Kentucky basketball changed head coaches this offseason to Mark Pope, they had to build their roster from scratch. They brought in a number of talented transfers, but the centerpiece of the new squad was Jaxson Robinson, who played for Pope at BYU, and who ESPN recently ranked as a top 100 draft prospect.

With his experience in Pope’s system, and his obvious abilities, he considered to be the final piece of the puzzle. Fans were as excited as the coaches to gain his commitment.

Related: Kentucky getting a visit from a four-star forward

Robinson is obviously an important player, and that’s why ESPN ranked him among the top 100 college basketball players. Analysts Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf ranked the new Wildcat as the number 50 player going into the season.

Here’s what they had to say:

After withdrawing from the NBA draft, Robinson (14.2 PPG) followed Mark Pope to Kentucky, where he’ll join a group of transfers aiming to make the Wildcats competitive in their first year without John Calipari. Robinson has to be more consistent in Lexington (he shot just 30% from 3 in Big 12 play last season), but his best performances — see: 18 points, 4-for-9 from beyond the arc in a win over Kansas in 2023-24 — showed he can be one of the top players in his new conference.

Robinson will be one of the leaders for this year’s Kentucky team. He is a talented player who could have a big season, and ESPN thinks he’s one of the better players in the nation.

Kentucky basketball is getting a visit from a four-star forward

Kentucky basketball is set to receive a visit from 2025 forward Samis Calderon.

Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball are already working on a very good 2025 recruiting class. Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno are already on board, and they are the favorite to land guard Acaden Lewis as well.

Now, a new name has emerged on Kentucky’s radar. Forward Samis Calderon is set to visit the Wildcats, according to Kentucky Sports Radio. The visit is set for some time in November, according to the report.

Related: A Kentucky target is set to make a decision in November

Calderon is a 6’8″, 200 lb forward out of Georgia. He’s rated four stars by 247sports, and is ranked as the number 35 small forward in the 2025 recruiting class.

Offers from Kansas, the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Auburn Tigers have come in for Calderon already. He is also in the process of visiting those schools with Auburn up next. Kentucky hasn’t officially offered him yet, but it’s good for fans to see that Pope and his staff are still working on bringing in more talent.

A Kentucky basketball recruiting target is set to make a decision

Guard Acaden Lewis is set to decide if he’ll commit to Kentucky basketball on November 2nd.

The Kentucky basketball season doesn’t officially begin for more than a week, but they’re playing exhibition games, and are still on the recruiting trail. They have landed two top players in the 2025 class already in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno. Soon, they’ll find out where Acaden Lewis will play.

Lewis told Kentucky Sports Radio that he will make his commitment announcement on November 2nd. His final three choices are Kentucky, Connecticut, and the Duke Blue Devils.

Related: Kentucky is 23rd in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Lewis is 6’2″, 170 lb point guard out of Washington DC. He is currently ranked as the number 32 overall player in the class by 247sports, and has a four-star rating.

Kentucky is the current favorite to land Lewis, but there are no sure things in recruiting. Fans are eager to hear his decision, though, and he would add to an already very good class for coach Mark Pope and his staff.

The best photos from Kentucky’s exhibition vs Kentucky Wesleyan

Here are some of the best photos of Kentucky basketball’s exhibition game against Kentucky Wesleyan.

Kentucky basketball kicked off the 2024-25 season on Wednesday night with an exhibition game against Kentucky Wesleyan. Mark Pope and his new roster made their debut, and did so in spectacular fashion, winning 123 – 52.

Fans got a nice preview of what Kentucky hopes to be this season. They want to shoot a lot of threes, and score a lot of points on offense, and they did exactly that. As a team, they made 21-of-42 three-point attempts and moved the ball up and down the court.

Related: Kentucky 23rd in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Jaxson Robinson led the Wildcats with 19 points, but eight different players scored in double figures. Otega Oweh was just behind him with 18.

Lamont Butler was as advertised as well, with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and a whopping 6 steals. Robinson and Ansley Almonor each made five three-pointers.

It was a fun night for Kentucky players and fans. Here are some of the terrific pictures from the game.